Lenny got his hair cut today and looks fluffy and nice. He also has that great "salon" smell. That will last maybe until tomorrow. As he is getting older, he gets smelly more quickly.
I have not had the best running week. Last Saturday, I had my first race in the training series leading up to my mini-marathon in Indy in May. It was a 5K at 8:30 in the morning, up in Indy. The night before, I packed my gatorade, iPod, a banana, everything else I would need, and printed out my directions from Google Maps.
Google Maps let me down. I got lost before I even made it downtown, and then once I did, I got lost on one-way streets trying to find the Indiana State Museum, where the race began. I was near tears and about to turn around when I saw a parking garage that was on the right street. I pulled in and asked if I was in the right place for the 5K. It was 8:25. And it cost $8 to park there.
I didn't know if I was even in the right place, and I didn't have much of a chance of making it in time. And when I opened my wallet, I had only 5 one-dollar bills. I dug through my change and somehow came up with $3 more. I parked. I ran outside and frantically looked around, trying to figure out where to go.
Diagonally across the street, about a block away, was the museum, swarming with people wearing spandex leggings. I SPRINTED! Once I got over there, I elbowed my way through the crowd, trying to find the registration table. It turned out it was inside, down a couple flights of stairs. I SPRINTED! I got my number and shoe-chip and RAN back up those stairs. They fired the starting gun as I was putting the third safety pin in my number on my shirt. I didn't even have my iPod or gloves on yet! Luckily, I was at the very back of the pack and it took a while for me to get to the start line. But I hadn't even stretched, and I was winded, and I felt horrible.
So I ended up walking a little bit during the race. I didn't care enough at that point to make myself run the whole way. So I was disappointed in myself. However, I finished in 35 minutes, 54 seconds - I met my goal! I had wanted to run a bit faster than my other races and finish in under 36 minutes. So I guess that means my pace has increased, which is a good thing.
But as soon as I had finished, I knew I had pulled a muscle. In my "gluteus" region, if you get my drift. A week later, it still hurts when I walk around or try to stand up. So I have been trying to rest. On Thursday, I walked on the treadmill for an hour trying to loosen it up. But now I am under doctor's orders (thanks Dad) to completely rest until Wednesday, and then start back really slowly, only walking. I have been really frustrated, feeling like I am falling way behind on my training schedule, but talking to my dad about it helped a lot. Thanks Dad!
I've also decided to replace my running shoes! I love the ones I have now, but I have been having blister problems. Switching back and forth from the street to the treadmill has been giving me blisters on the arch of my foot, but I think that would happen with other shoes. Now I am getting blisters on the ends of my toes! I read that you are supposed to buy your running shoes a half-size too big, because your feet will swell and expand as you run longer distances. So I went on swoosh.com and found my exact shoe model - on clearance, and in a much cuter color than the orange ones I have now! Sweet! My size 10s should arrive on Monday.
